The R&B prince Chris Brown and his R&B princess Rihanna performed at the Louisiana Superdome during the 2008 Essence Music Festival on Friday, the Fourth of July, in New Orleans. In other news, Billboard recently did a review of Rihanna’s latest single ‘Disturbia’ saying “…It’s safe to say that Rihanna is the premier artist of the second half of the decade, with no signs of wear and tear. This latest is a sort of ‘Thriller’ for partygoers, with multilayered vocals cascading across Ri’s lower register, alongside fun scatting, a la ‘bum bum bi dum bum’ with co-writing (and background vocals) from the irrepressible Chris Brown…”
NERD front man Pharrell Williams recently sat down with British Vogue and revealed that he’s using a revolutionary procedure to get rid of his tattoos. Apparently, the ink does go well with the grown up image he’d like to project. You can forget about painful laser procedures, he’s going to have replicated skin over his tattoos. He says “It’s basically like getting a skin graft, but you’re not taking skin from your ass or your legs. These guys actually grow the skin for you. First you have to give them a sample of your skin, which they then replicate. Once that’s been done, they sew it on - and it’s seamless. It’s going to be pricey, but worth it. I got fire on my arms! I’m a grown man!”
Dave Matthews’ sax player has been sidelined due to obtaining a serious injury from an ATV accident. 46-year old LeRoi Moore was on break between concerts when he got injured riding the rig at his farm outside Charlottesville, Virginia. He was transported to UVA Medical Center where he’s listed in fair condition. A statement on the band’s website said “Please join us all in wishing LeRoi a speedy and complete recovery.” Meanwhile, Jeff Coffin, the sax player of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, will sit in with the band for the remainder of their tour while LeRoi recovers. Get well soon LeRoi!
It looks like Ticketmaster is about to get some serious competition as Live Nation, the owners and promoters of music venues all over the globe as well as the group that gave Jay-Z and Madonna their $100 million contracts, will be launching its own ticketing arm once its contract with Ticketmaster expires at the end of the year. A little competition is always good for both the consumers and the producers. But then again, at the end of the day, Live Nation is still a corporation. Sooner or later, they’re going to suck the life out of us too much like every other corporation does.
Amy Winehouse quit hospital in a rage after her decision to return to the stage backfired.
She threw a tantrum hours after her chaotic Glastonbury set and told dad Mitch to get her out. Friends now fear she may return to drugs — if she hasn’t already.
A pal said: “We feared a taste of the outside would remind her what she’s missing and it would be hard to get her back into life at the clinic. That’s exactly what’s happened.”
Rehab singer Amy, 24, was admitted to The London Clinic two weeks ago suffering from emphysema. She got clean and was “like an excited little girl” in the build-up to her comeback shows at Glastonbury on Saturday and Nelson Mandela’s Hyde Park birthday concert last Friday.
The pal added: “Doctors said we should let her do the shows because performing is what she lives for. We can’t take that away. It seemed the right thing to do because she was so excited. She looked and sounded better than she has in ages at the gigs.”
But Amy ranted on stage and elbowed a fan at Glastonbury. After her set she was whisked back to The London Clinic by helicopter — and 24 hours later she’d had enough.
The pal said: “Sunday was like she was on a terrible comedown from the whole thing. She kicked off and threw all her toys out the pram. She told Mitch, ‘I’m climbing the walls in here. I need to get out’. She said if he didn’t help her get out she’d walk out. He realized he had to let her leave, otherwise he’d have no control over where she goes and what she gets up to.”
The pal added: “He’s with her and keeping and eye on her, but he’s beside himself. Everyone is gutted as she’d been doing so well and hasn’t touched any drugs for two weeks. But now she’s out we fear it will all go downhill.”
A spokesman for Amy confirmed she had left the clinic and would be treated as an outpatient. She spent last night with pals at a local pub and kebab shop.
50 artists recently recorded Prince covers in honor of his 50th birthday this past June 7th. Unfortunately for them, their attempt at an honor has gotten them lawsuits. The irony of it all is that it’s Prince who’s suing them. The purple one’s lawyers are demanding that all copies of the tribute album be destroyed immediately. One single has made it into the top 10 in Norway and the Norwegian press has given popular reviews on the album, so what’s the problem? By law, it’s legal to cover songs of someone else’s material so long as you pay about a 10 cent licensing fee per song. Apparently, that hasn’t been done and no one has made any money from the project.
Timbaland got married on a private island in Aruba last weekend but don’t think that the rapper and mega producer went all out with the fancy stuff. Spies at the wedding site says that the music mogul’s wedding, which the hotel called the code name of ‘Heaven on Earth’, actually featured open mic karaoke and $50,000 worth of flowers. If you compare that to Mariah’s weddings, it’s practically peanuts. Oprah, Madonna, Missy Elliott, Beyonce, Jay-Z and Prince were said to be invited but there’s no official word on just who actually showed. What, Justin Timberlake wasn’t invited? I was kind of imagining him as the wedding singer.
Snoop Dogg was on Big Boy’s Neighborhood on LA’s Power 106 on Wednesday where he said that he recently recorded tracks for Dr. Dre’s highly anticipated and long-delayed new album ‘Detox’. Snoop said “That record is real, it’s coming. You know me, I was starting to doubt it myself and then I went up in there and he played so much music for me it knocked my head off. I see what he got them waiting for, it’s on and poppin. He got records, he got heat.” Snoop has also confirmed that the 10 years in the making project was finished and the Dre was already selecting tracks for the final product.
It has recently been confirmed that soul diva Jill Scott is engaged to drummer Lil Jon Roberts. The singer made the announcement on June 20th while celebrating her Carnegie Hall debut. She got the sold out crowd cheering at the news. Jill was just divorced last year from ex-hubby Lyzel Williams. Here’s to hoping that this marriage turns out better. In a recent interview, Jill said “I’d get married because I want to share all of this with someone. I just mean who I am and the blessings that I have, I want to share it. That’s why I would get married again.”
Kanye West has recently gone to his blog to publicly announce that he’s on the side of the marginally talented and highly annoying Soulja Boy. Kanye wrote “Soulja boy is fresh ass hell and is actually the true meaning of what hip hop is supposed to be. He came from the hood, made his own beats, made up a new saying, new sound and a new dance with one song. He had all of America rapping this summer. If that ain’t Hip Hop then what is?” I’ll tell you why Kanye was in great support of Soulja Boy – it’s because they’re both just way too into themselves.
It looks like things are getting serious between Katy Perry and her boyfriend Travis McCoy. The Gym Class Heroes lead singer has reportedly given her a promise ring. Travis recently opened up in an interview saying “We’re going to spend the whole summer together. She’s going to be on Warped Tour with us, she’s going to be performing. It’s going to be a good time.” He was asked what he like about Katy and he said “She’s super hot, for one. But when I first heard the song, I was like this is going to be a smash. The next thing you know it’s No. 1 on iTunes.” He likes her for her number 1 then? Travis has bought her a diamond ring already by just as a promise ring that she wears on her middle finger. He even adds that he has one too.
Justin Timberlake was in France earlier this week doing a little bit of shopping with his manager Johnny Wright. Next month, the singing and dancing sensation will host the 2008 ESPY Awards to celebrate the year’s best moments in sports. There are currently 4 commercials featuring Justin on ESPN.com that serve as publicity to drum up support for the ESPY awards. The one entitled ‘Time Capsule’ is actually pretty funny. The ESPY Awards will air on July 20 on ESPN. Justin will appear on ‘Live with Jimmy Kimmel’ on July 18 to hype up the show. Other announced presenters for the award ceremony include Zac Efron, Kristen Bell, Luke Wilson, David Beckham and Lance Armstrong.
Rihanna performed on CBS’ The Early Show on Friday morning at New York City’s CBSStudiosPlaza. Her performance is going to air at a later date though. In other news, the 20-year old Barbadian beauty reacently spoke to Extra at the Cartier LOVECHARITY event. When she was asked about her romantic life, the singer replied “No, I am not in love.” Then what is she doing with Chris Brown then? Is it all just an act? Is the R&B crooner getting played by a girl who keeps claiming they’re like brother and sister? If so, it sucks to be him.
Poison is all set to hit the road for a new tour this summer. But the first thing on their agenda as a newly reformed band is to sue their record label. According to a lawsuit which was filed last week in LA Superior court, the band claims that Capitol Records stiffed them by underpaying them royalties for years. They also claim that they were shortchanged by EMI Music Marketing over a deal made back in 2005 for their greatest hits album which also featured a new track called ‘We’re An American Band’. Poison is suing for breach of contract and is seeking damages in excess of $25,000.
Former G-Unit member Young Buck blasted 50 Cent and G-Unit at his concert in Tampa, Florida this past week. He even used the crowd as his own personal therapist to vent his frustration. But since it is 50 who’s behind G-Unit, we shouldn’t be surprised that they’ve fired back in one way or the other. Audio tapes have been mysteriously released to New York DJ Miss Info which feature a blubbering Young Buck begging to stay in the group. Maybe that’s why he’s talking smack. They kicked him out! 50 Cent just showed him who’s the real gangsta in town.
Kanye West got some fans pretty frustrated after the rapper showed up two hours late for a gig. The rapper was supposed to take the stage at Bonnaroo at 2:45AM last weekend but he showed up at 4:25AM. The crowd really tore into him chanting “Kanye sucks” and even threw glow sticks on stage. According to reports, the big delay was caused by his big stage set which took quite a while to put up after Pearl Jam’s appearance. It was a freaking festival gig. Why did he have to have a big stage set up? Those things have to be quick. I’m not surprised that the fans turned on him for being a big diva about his set.
Jay-Z and Beyonce could be teaming up for a duet this summer.
The married couple are rumored to appear on stage together at the O2 Wireless Festival in London, just one week after the rapper controversially headlines Glastonbury. A source said: “Jay-Z is planning a spectacle to end of spectacles. He knows all eyes will be on him when he headlines Glastonbury but he’s actually planning on whipping up something special for Wireless too. He’s been talking to Beyonce about getting her on stage.’
The hip-hop star, who teamed up with Beyonce for her worldwide smash hit ‘Crazy In Love’ and ’03 Bonnie and Clyde’, is also planning to fly in a huge string section and orchestra for the Hyde Park concert.
Since being announced as a Glastonbury headliner, Jay-Z has been criticized by rock royalty, including Oasis star Noel Gallagher, who insists a hip-hop act should not top the bill at the event.
50 Cent has been asked to change his name to 79 Cent by a US fast food chain. The ‘In Da Club’ rapper was challenged by Taco Bell to consider calling himself 79, 89 or 99 Cent to promote the restaurant’s new value menu.
Taco Bell have promised to donate $10,000 to a charity of the rapper’s choice if he also agrees to stop at one of their outlets and rap his order at the drive-thru. The eatery will also treat all the customers at the star’s chosen restaurant to free meals.
Taco Bell President and CEO Greg Creed said in a letter to the singer: “We know that you adopted the name 50 Cent years ago as a metaphor for change. We at Taco Bell are also huge advocates for change. We encourage you to ‘Think Outside the Bun’ and hope you accept our offer.”
50 - real name Curtis Jackson - previously showed his love for fast food during a tour of the UK last year. The hip-hop star reportedly gave a rider to each British concert venue he visited, requesting a KFC chicken bucket served to him on fine china.
Missy Elliot is coming out with her long-awaited new album ‘Block Party’ later this summer. You don’t have to wait that long to see what her album’s like though as her first single has recently dropped. ‘Best, Best’ is and R&B tune with Missy trading her trademark rapping skills for singing. The song was produced by Timbaland’s protégé, Danja. I like it but I don’t love it. Here’s the thing, it’s Missy’s first single in a good while and she’s singing, which isn’t what she’s known for nor is it her forte. If you ask me, she should have come out with a party-sounding rap song and then just came out with this single as her second release just to shock people.
In the music industry, no one is safe from a lawsuit, not even if you’re on their payroll. Rockers Scott Weiland and Eric Kretz of Stone Temple Pilots have been sued by their own record label Atlantic. According to Billboard, the suit claims that lead singer Scott and drummer Eric have threatened to stop performing under their contract and indicated that they would like to end the agreement unless the label makes significant changes. The company wants the group to record a 7th album and deliver up to 2 more if Atlantic decides it wants them. The band has come out with a statement regarding the matter saying that the were surprised by the suit as they were in the middle of what was believed to be cordial discussion on making a new album. They also denied the claims that they threatened to terminate their contract.
Amy Winehouse was rushed to hospital yesterday after collapsing at home. Friends called an ambulance for the troubled singer after she fainted and fell down a flight of stairs. However, 24-year-old Amy sent the emergency services away, insisting her dad Mitch drove her to hospital instead.
A source said: “Amy is really stressed at the moment and is struggling with her husband Blake in prison. This collapse was a real shock for her. Thankfully she came round shortly after she blacked out. When the paramedics came and checked her over she was shaking and accepted she needed to go to hospital.”
Amy’s spokesperson confirmed she had been hospitalised overnight, but insisted the incident was not serious or drugs related. The representative said: “Amy was at home when she briefly fainted. Fortunately her manager’s assistant was there. She quickly recovered and her father Mitch took her to hospital as a precaution. Doctors are unsure of the cause of the incident and Amy is undergoing tests.”
Amy reportedly suffered a sprained ankle when she fell.
Most industry insiders are saying that Madonna or Mariah Carey would be the top-selling album of the year. However, some think that it’s not the case. Some people are saying that both divas will get beat for biggest sales of the year by rapper Lil Wayne. It turns out that his album was helped out by all the internet leaks of his songs. Industry experts are saying that it’s the most effective free publicity. Lil Wayne’s ‘Tha Carter III’ came out on Tuesday so exact numbers are yet to come in but his label estimates that the album will sell around 850,000 to 950,000 on its first week. If that is the case, he’s a shoe-in.
Jay Z has praised the rhyming skills of Kanye West.
Last month MTV bosses voted Chicago rapper Kanye top of a list of “Hottest MCs In The Game” and now New York man Jay has shown his love.
Jay, real-name Shawn Carter, told MTV: “He’s a complete package now, he’s working on his craft as an MC.” He explained: “In the beginning, his flow wasn’t as tight His flow was lacking in my opinion.”
Aside from his razor-sharp rhyming skills, Jay is keen to highlight West’s lyrical talent.
He said: “The hooks were incredible and the lyrics - he really takes a lot of pride in what he writes. That happiness is seeing his evolution from the first album to now.”
Apparently the record label doesn’t have much faith in Janet’s latest album Discipline. Unfortunately for Janet, that means they’ve stopped promotion on the album, which means it’s pretty much going to flop.
Janet says, “We started off with [the single] Feedback and the label and myself haven’t quite seen eye to eye since the Feedback single so they’ve kind of basically stopped all promotion. I’m trying to figure out a way to say this, but just to say it and to be quite honest, they just stopped all promotion whatsoever on the album, so I don’t think you’re going to hear another single off the album.”
Timbaland got married on Tuesday. The record producer and long-term partner Monique Idlett, who works as a music publicist, opted for a low key ceremony and wore sweat pants as they secretly tied the knot in front of a family pastor in a church in Virginia.
The newlywed couple are also planning to hold a formal ceremony in front of friends and family in the Caribbean island of Aruba on June 22.
Timbaland, whose real name is Timothy Z. Mosley, and Monique welcomed their first daughter Reign in November.
The 37-year-old music mogul - who has collaborated with Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado and Madonna - proposed to Monique at Reign’s baby shower last October.
Timbaland isn’t the only celebrity to wed in secret recently. Former Destiny’s Child singer Beyonce Knowles and hip-hop star Jay-Z married in the musician’s New York apartment in April, while Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon held an impromptu beachside ceremony in the Bahamas following their whirlwind romance.
Warren G was pulled over early Sunday morning after running a red light. After which, he was charged with possession with intent to sell after police found a large amount of marijuana in the car. The rapper denied that the pot was his. Whether it was or it wasn’t, it doesn’t matter anymore. Just a day after the incident, an LA County District Attorney threw out the drug charges against the rapper. Apparently, there is insufficient evidence to connect Warren and the person with him in the car to the weed found in the car as the vehicle was not registered to either of them.
Snoop Dogg recently had a sit down interview for the new issue of Esquire magazine. Here’s something that stuck out for me: “A lot of people like to fool you and say that you’re not smart if you never went to college, but common sense rules over everything. That’s what I learned from selling crack.” There’s such a thing as book smart and street smart. I guess Snoop falls into the street smart category. And when I say street, I mean street. If you get the idea, you know there are a lot of really hard lessons there – like several charges and guns pointed at you.
Radiohead was a revolutionary band by giving away its latest album for pretty much nothing. Now, we can all get our hands on all of the band’s stuff before ‘In Rainbows’ on iTunes. The band previously only allowed its record label to sell its albums digitally on music services in album form. That means that you can’t just buy singles. Apple refused to do it so Radiohead declined to sell their music on iTunes – that is until the album ‘In Rainbows’ for songs a la carte sale following its pricing-optional debut. I just want them to admit it – money almost always wins over artistry.
According to a lawsuit filed earlier this week in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Sex Pistols singer Johnny Rotten allegedly beat the crap out of a female assistant and cussed her out after the taping of a television show in 2007. In the lawsuit Roxane Davis claimed that Rotten “cocked back his fist … and punched her in the face” when the rocker ended up in a hotel room at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel that didn’t share a door with his other assistant named Rambo. She claims that both Rotten and Rambo went on a verbal tirade against her. Davis was an employee of the show that Rotten was working on. She says she reported the incident to her supervisor but that no one paid any mind to her.
